Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster (PS4)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Resident Evil (2002)

With the success of the original release of Resident Evil 2 (1999), Capcom greenlit multiple Resident Evil projects. Alongside the projects that became Code: Veronica and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, they approved Resident Evil 0, which would serve as a prequel for the original Resident Evil (1996) and the series as a whole. Though originally intended for the Nintendo 64 and its failed 64DD expansion, development restarted in earnest for the GameCube, solving a storage issue that had previously halted development and allowed for an eventual release in late 2002, the same year as the remake of the original Resident Evil, to critical acclaim save for the criticism of sticking with archaic tank controls. With the success of Resident Evil HD Remaster in 2015, this game would receive the same treatment, releasing in 2016 as Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster.

After playing perhaps the worst of the “classic” Resident Evil games, my journey brought me to the last, as Resident Evil 0 was the last based on the fixed camera angle style, which smoothed the transition between games compared with going from Resident Evil 3 (2020) to Code: Veronica X (CVX). While still flawed in its own right, this game still proved far more enjoyable than CVX in just about every way, to the point that I feel the classic entries ended on a high note.

Before I continue, I want to firmly establish that, as with the review of Resident Evil HD Remaster, this review is based on the HD Remaster version of Resident Evil 0 as presented in Resident Evil Origins Collection. As such, I will not be discussing any of the differences from the original 2002 GameCube release of Resident Evil 0, as I hadn’t experienced it myself.

In 1998, the night before the Mansion Incident, train owned by Umbrella Pharmaceuticals called the Ecliptic Express is attacked by a swarm of leeches while traveling through the Arklay Mountains. Two hours later, the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team, who flew over to investigate a string of bizarre cannibalistic murders in the region, crash lands. They search the are and discover a wrecked Marine MP vehicle with its drivers dead and its prisoner, Marine 2LT Billy Coen, missing. As Rebecca Chambers searches the Raccoon Forest to help locate Billy, she discovers the halted Ecliptic Express and investigates. Although she locates Billy within the train, a series of mysterious events forces them to team up and uncover the truth behind the leeches that have infested not only the train, but also a large building previously used as an Umbrella training facility.

The door to safety is shut.
There is no turning back...

As a direct prequel to the original Resident Evil, Resident Evil 0 manages to explore the origins of Umbrella without necessarily contradicting what its canon successor had established, including how Rebecca could be involved in both stories. The introduction of James Marcus and the Progenitor Virus adds a bit of depth to the lore around the t-Virus without falling into the pitfall of introducing something too much more powerful than the Tyrant B.O.W.s that S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team encounter, all while making the leeches make sense within the context of the Resident Evil universe. While controlling said leeches through opera singing is indeed a bit silly, it’s nowhere near as silly as anything in CVX, instead telling a comparatively more grounded story with some enjoyable B-movie flair.

As for the characters, Rebecca feels more fleshed out than in her debut, as she proves herself capable of fending for herself when necessary and doesn’t need rescuing from her partner, in fact saving Billy’s life at least once herself. Even then, she’s a good partner for Billy and grows to really trust him despite him being a prisoner who had apparently killed twenty-three people. Billy himself feels like a much better executed version of Steve Burnside from CVX; though they’re both prisoners who earn trust from their respective game’s female leads, Billy has a more natural character arc, is far more competent and has a backstory that easily earns him a lot of sympathy. As such, it’s much easier to get invested in Billy’s character and the conclusion for his and Rebecca’s story feels more earned.

While it certainly is possible to play Resident Evil 0 first, as it’s the first game chronologically, it’s best to play it after the original Resident Evil. The main reason is that a major twist in the original game is casually spoiled here, which isn’t fair for those going into the series blind.

As the last classic Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 0’s gameplay is, in a surprisingly nice change of pace from CVX, similar to the original Resident Evil, complete with the option to use an updated alternate control scheme and an actual difficulty select. Along with continuing the tradition of requiring ink ribbons to save progress and enemies not randomly choosing to not die, items that have fulfilled their purpose can be automatically discarded to make room in the inventory, which now has only six slots for both Rebecca and Billy with no way to increase space. The Duralumin Case returns from CVX, but this time there’s only one and the code to unlock it is printed on the case itself (you’ll have to Examine the case in the right spot to see it though). Due to the introduction of the Partner system, however, the default controls are a little different from previous entries, which threw off my muscle memory with opening the Map screen, now mapped to L2. Previously, the Map screen could be easily accessed with Triangle, which now swaps between characters in the field, an action accompanied by a heartbeat and a head nod from the previously controlled character.

The Partner System is one of the biggest gameplay changes made in Resident Evil 0, acting a new take on the tradition of the classic games (up to this point) having two playable characters. Although Rebecca and Billy are both playable, the player can only control one (the “Main”) at a time, leaving the other character (the “Partner”) controlled by an AI. Although the Partner character will usually move independently while both Rebecca and Billy are in the same room, the player can also move them directly with the right analog stick. Players can also “program” the behavior of the AI by assigning instructions through the “Partner” option in the Status screen: Solo means they’ll move independently, Team means the Partner will follow the Main and Attack makes the Partner automatically attack enemies with their equipped weapon while Idle stops them from doing so. Players can also switch the Partner’s Team and Solo behaviors in the field with either the TouchPad or R2. Pressing Triangle in the Status screen not only lets you manage either character’s inventory, but will affect which character you control when you exit. If characters are in different rooms, they’ll radio each other if they’re under attack and it’s advised that you rescue them ASAP, as it’s Game Over if either character dies.

There’s a section early on that effectively demonstrates the Partner system by splitting up the characters and requiring one of them to retrieve an object to give to the other through a small cargo elevator, freeing them from a locked room. Splitting up happens more than once, sometimes specifically having Rebecca enter spaces only she can fit into. Even in the field, the specific gameplay differences between Billy and Rebecca make using one more advantageous over the other. While Rebecca is rather frail with her weak defense, only she can combine Herbs or, later on, use her mixing set to combine chemicals (in a great nod to her medical and chemical expertise in the original Resident Evil). Although Billy can’t combine Herbs, he’s stronger offensively and can push large objects that Rebecca can’t. Some puzzles require both characters with one in particular, which involves moving crates and flooding part of a room, taking advantage of their natural differences.

Rebecca and Billy will occasionally split up.

While the Partner system is an interesting shakeup to the Resident Evil formula, it does have an impact on the inventory system. Although each character can exchange items with their Partner as long as they are within range (through the item’s Exchange option in the Main’s inventory), the tradeoff is that there are no Item Boxes anywhere in the game. If there’s an item you don’t need or want, you must leave it on the floor and if you want a certain item beyond its previous location, you’ll need to go back and grab it, which may involve multiple trips depending on your difficulty level and playstyle. Plus, you can only leave so many items in any given room, which may pose an issue on lower difficulties.

Fortunately, there are ways the player can make this system more manageable. The game itself lets you view the exact locations of any item you left behind on the Map screen and every part of the game past the opening Ecliptic Express section is interconnected, eventually tied more closely by an enormous elevator, so no item is ever truly lost. The only exception would be any item you didn’t interact with on the train, as the ones you did interact with will show up immediately in the following section. Otherwise, the player can maintain inventory space by leaving Ink Ribbons near a Typewriter or only taking one healing item with them at a time.

Compared with the original game, which took place in a deliberately trap-filled mansion, Resident Evil 0 de-emphasizes the puzzle element, though no too greatly. Of the puzzles the player encounters, none of them are too hard to figure out, even ones that require a little critical thinking like one involving a food chain. I really appreciated one aspect of the aforementioned crate puzzle where you can reset it by exiting and entering the room again to avoid a painful softlock.

Puzzles aren't too obtuse this time around.

Apart from the recurring Zombies, Hunters, Crows, Giant Spiders and dogs, which are the apparently distinct Cerberus here, players will encounter new enemies born as a result of early t-Virus experimentation. Most are based on animals of some kind, like the Plague Crawlers, Eliminators and the randomly encountered Lurker, though Leeches can play a big part in certain areas, especially if they are united as a Mimicry Marcus, which resembles the doctor who created them. Unlike CVX, there are also thankfully very few times where Rebecca or Billy is in danger of gaining the Poison status, so managing the few Blue Herbs that exist in the game is much easier. That said, there’s still some amount of annoyance from Crows, as they are difficult to hit as moving targets and can easily swarm the player, and Eliminators, monkey-like enemies that are like Hunters but much harder to hit due to their mobility. I would have also said that the Mimicry Marcus was annoying, but then I discovered that you can dodge its post-death leech explosions by entering another room during the animation.

While the Stinger and Centurion bosses aren’t too much trouble, the Infected Bat is easily the worst in the game, as it can infinitely summon regular Bats to throw off your aim while occasionally picking you up for an aerial attack. The other two bosses, which I won’t spoil here, are thankfully not that difficult, though the final boss requires running around as a distraction while four locks are undone throughout a large room.

Although the game is pretty enjoyable for the most part, there are some flaws that introduce more frustration than necessary. Like CVX, the Herb system goes unexplained even in the digital manual (if it was in a file somewhere, I couldn’t find it). Unlike most key items, even though the Hookshot, which takes up two slots(!), becomes useless after a certain point (when you get a cable car running), the game doesn’t tell you as such, so you just have to know you can leave it behind. One downside of the fixed camera system is that if you place an item down in the wrong spot, it’s possible to lose track of it, as no angle will actually show it and you have to guess. On top of that you have to approach items at just the right angle to interact with them (in at least once case requiring me to touch the tank controls for precision) and, similarly, you need to approach the machine that frees the Fire Key at a particular angle and distance.

It's also worth noting that if you play on Easy (which I did due to still dealing with “Gamer’s Thumb” at the time) or in Wesker Mode (more on that later), completing the game doesn’t reward you with a Ranking or any associated items. Additionally, certain boss encounters can feel anticlimactic.

Visually, Resident Evil 0 is on par with the original Resident Evil, which gives Origins Collection a consistently good aesthetic alongside the classic trappings of fixed camera angles and unique animations for doors, stairs and the Hookshot rope. Certain changes I noticed were that, likely as a result of the Partner system, the light on the DualSense I played with didn’t change based on the Caution status, instead maintaining a static color. Also, as with the original game, the character model only changes starting from the Orange Caution status as opposed to starting with Yellow Caution. Unfortunately, the subtitles also feel mistimed at points with the audio.

Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster looks good visually.

What I found most interesting, however, was how the game handled the costume system. Rather than selecting what Rebecca or Billy look like from the start, you can shange costumes at any time in the Status screen (the path for doing so is Status -> Personal -> Suitcase). Considering the wealth of available costumes, both from having all on-disc costumes unlocked from the start and the DLC costumes, this system works out really well, especially since unlike Silent Hill 3, which also has tons of unlockable costumes, they don’t clog up your inventory.

Like the other games, Resident Evil 0 has great music, though I appreciated that like the original game, the soundtrack includes a good amount of ambient noise that helps set just the right mood. As far as the classic games are concerned, this one also has decent voice acting, certainly better than CVX and about on par with, if not a little better than, Resident Evil HD Remaster.

Unlike CVX, this entry thankfully has a good amount of replay value. Apart from the different difficulty levels and trophies, you can unlock certain weapons by obtaining different ranks based on your performance on Normal and above. Completing the game once also not only lets you access Once Again mode through loading Clear Data, but also unlocks access to the Leech Hunter minigame and Wesker Mode, which I will now go over separately for completeness.

 

Leech Hunter, accessed through the “Extra Game” option from loading Clear Data, is a bonus minigame where Rebecca and Billy, who start out with a certain inventory, have to find Leech Charms throughout the main Training Facility. There are 100 keys, 50 each of green and blue charms, but Billy can only pick up blue ones and Rebecca green. Leech Charms can stack within a single inventory slot, but only up to 10 at a time and once you pick one up, you can’t leave it behind again. The other twists are that while every door is unlocked, you still need to use the Fire Key on the appropriate doors and despite appearing on the map, you can’t use the Typewriter, meaning you have to do the entire thing in one go. As if that wasn’t enough, enemy and item placement are each (individually) randomly determined. The difficulty is determined by the difficulty of the Clear Data and the minigame only ends either through a Game Over or by exiting through the mansion’s front door with whatever Leech Charms you have on you.

While lengthy and potentially difficult depending on your approach, Leech Hunter is very much worth the effort if you plan on playing the game again. Depending on how many Leech Charms you manage to find, you unlock perks accessible through both future playthroughs and Wekser Mode. For example, since I got away with all 100 Leech Charms on my first and only run, I got an A rank and unlocked infinite ammo for all weapons. While I was able to get through the main game with little to no guidance, I will admit I did need some guidance to figure out where the items had spawned in my Leech Hunter playthrough.

Perhaps the more interesting extra is Wesker Mode, accessed from the Extras menu, where players get to play through the game again, but with Wesker in place of Billy, as well as a brainwashed Rebecca (complete with new outfit) as his Partner. Wesker is more than just a reskin, however, as he can not only mix Herbs like Rebecca, but also has access to the Shadow Dash and Death Stare abilities, which respectively make traversal much faster and give Wesker a powerful offensive option that saves precious ammo. Although players can hear new lines with Wesker’s voice during Partner interactions, the game notes upfront that the pre-rendered cutscenes will still feature Billy in place of Wesker. I also noticed that even though the in-engine cutscenes feature Wesker, he still has Billy’s voice.

Although I only played the Ecliptic Express sequence in Wesker Mode, I found it a fun twist on the game’s mechanics that made tackling previously difficult sections more cathartic, especially with the extras I had unlocked from Leech Hunter. I also didn’t mind his constantly glowing eyes, at least outside of the cutscenes, as it gave off a sense of power, and liked that the mode had its own purple Save File color to make it easier to differentiate from the main game’s difficulty levels. From my own observation, it seemed that the difficulty of Wesker Mode also matched the loaded Clear Data, though I wasn’t able to personally confirm one way or the other. I will mention, however, that Wesker’s presence can make certain cutscenes odd to see in this context and it seemed that he couldn’t use the Shadow Dash ability in Orange Caution or Danger status, which I hadn’t seen mentioned anywhere.

Though flawed in its attempt at shaking up the Resident Evil formula, Resident Evil 0 is still an enjoyable, if somewhat silly, expansion of the original game’s story and universe. Playing this game before any of the others is not recommended if you care about the story, but it should otherwise satisfy and longtime fans of either Resident Evil or survival horror in general.